Any Experience with Columbia 43?

[NotCanadian]

ok, so I'm relatively new to sailing, and want to buy a sailboat. was looking at a columbia 43. with the bunks i can cram a bunch of friends into it for some weekend fun. And looks relatively fast, and have read online that it is fast.
However, i can't seem to find any metrics, eg (if you are going downwind with 25 kts of wind you may get the boat up to __ kts).. I'm just trying to get a ballpark, or normal cruising speeds..

anyone with first hand experience? not just about speed, but how well does it sail, are they built well.. etc.. I think the boat may be perfect, just want to fill in these blanks.

Thanks in advance for any stories/advice.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, NotCanadian.

➥ http://sailingmagazine.net/article-1...lumbia-43.html

[SV Siren]

Not Canadian, Welcome aboard. May I suggest that you contact Brandon Ford who owns a newly restored C-43 named Hagoth. They have a blog talking about their 43 and the refit/restoration, as well as a lot of useful info on the boat itself. C-43's are usually a little undervalued for a boat their size, and came in 3 versions, Mark I, II, and III, each are a little different.

You can find their blog at The Log of Hagoth

They have a couple of pages on information concerning their boat, its numbers, and design.

Fair Winds...and good luck.

[Suijin]

I did sail on one back in the day for a week. It was fast, and it still is relatively fast given it's light displacement, relatively long waterline length, and modern underbody. I also think they are pretty good looking boats, with the lines making it somehow sleek despite the high freeboard.

Can't comment on the build quality over time but people are certainly refitting Columbias to this day. The 50 was considered a well built boat, in general, but the 43 was designed as lighter displacement.

I would be very careful with respect to condition. These are old boats and you could easily buy yourself a money pit of epic proportions if you're not careful and don't have experience evaluating older boats and don't know what is involved in terms of time and money to bring them back. Even if all you're looking for is putz-around boat for weekends with your mates, you don't want to get stuck with some huge repair down the road just to keep the boat serviceable.

Get a survey. Be present at the survey and shadow the surveyor. Ask lots of questions. If the surveyor flags something as needing repair or being past it's service life, ask for an estimate of what it will cost, all in, to make it right.

As far as speed goes, there is a general calculation:

As a very general rule the maximum speed of any displacement hull--commonly called its hull speed--is governed by a simple formula: hull speed in knots equals 1.34 times the square root of the waterline length in feet (HS = 1.34 x √LWL).

Being a light displacement racer cruiser, the 43 is probably going to be at the higher end.

Downwind in 25 knots...if you're sailing conservatively with reefed sails, you're looking at 7-8 knots surging to 10. Being new to sailing, in 25 knots you do want to sail conservatively.

[Adelie]

All 3 models rate 100-110 PHRF. So they average 465sec/nm expending racing levels of effort or about 186nm/day.

Cruising with friends figure about 2/3-3/4 of that.

Shoal draft and centerboard versions rate somewhat slower.

[KadeyKrogen38]

The aluminum H track,which holds the rub rail is what makes up the hull deck joint. This area on these boats is considered weak and is prone to leaking as well as some failures. Have your surveyor pay special attention to their joint as well as chainplate attachment and condition.

[ebsail]

Owned one for 9 years but it was back in the 80's and it was a deep keel 1970 model. Sailed quite well and I was super happy with the layout which allowed 6 people to be on deck, 6 to sleep and 6 to cook and dine and ALL AT THE SAME TIME. without converting anything. I did plenty of major work even back then. The big one to look out for is soft deck spots (balsa core) and leaking hull /deck joint. I also removed and and rebolted keel, reinforced keel attachment area, replaced rotting mast step, all standing rigging, rebuilt the Perkins 108 and lots of other stuff. Expect to spend plenty of time and $$. But very seaworthy. Had a day on Long Island Sound with 50 K gusts, crew of 13 and still felt comfortable reefed down with this boat.

[mickelsen]

I do know the C43 and echo the comments of my fellow forum responses. An original engine could be an issue which must be perfect.
You are going to do just fine by asking and listening.

[rikker1]

Not Canadian-
I crewed/sailed/ raced a new 1972 Columbia 43 on Lake Ontario and Erie for about 20 years. I remember it going downwind in 25 knots true - 18 apparent at about 7.5 knots, upwind w/ a 170% #1 at 15 apparent about 7 even. It was a pretty stiff boat and needed 15 true to have a chance in the club races against C&C 41's. It couldn't get out of it's own way in less than 6 knots, but it was a great boat for entertaining lots of clients. Lots of room below as you noticed for cruising comfort, and a clear foredeck you could play tennis on.
The only issue I had with it was docking the boat in strong side winds as it had an unbelievable amount of freeboard for that size boat. But that amount of freeboard also gave it that headroom below and the big unencumbered level deck above. Only engine issue in all the years on the Perkins diesel was hoses collapsing from wear, not the engines fault.
I miss that boat


rikker

[SvElysium]

I just got a 43 Columbia and have some questions wondering if i could have a moment of your time

[Don C L]

Originally Posted by SvElysium

I just got a 43 Columbia and have some questions wondering if i could have a moment of your time

Welcome aboard Elysium! You might check with the Columbia owners Yahoo group. There is a gentleman there who did an extensive re-fit on his 43 and sailed it from the PNW to Hawaii.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...ingyachts/info